Psalms 139:3-13

3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether.

5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7 Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me," even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.

13 For Thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

Psalms 139:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David, when he lay under the reproach and calumnies of men, who laid false things to his charge; things he was not conscious of either in the time of Saul's persecution of him, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him: and herein he appeals to the heart searching and rein trying God for his innocence; and, when settled on his throne, delivered it to the master of music, to make use of it on proper occasions. According to the Syriac title of the psalm, the occasion of it was Shimei, the son of Gera, reproaching and cursing him as a bloody man, 2 Samuel 16:5. Theodoret takes it to be a prophecy of Josiah, and supposes that he is represented as speaking throughout the psalm. Aben Ezra observes, that this is the most glorious and excellent psalm in all the book: a very excellent one it is: but whether the most excellent, it is hard to say. It treats of some of the most glorious of the divine perfections; omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Arama says, the argument of it is God's particular knowledge of men, and his providence over their affairs.